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Candied wild blueberries in a soft maple centre, all dipped - twice - in Belgian dark chocolate. And sometimes we soak the berries in Caribbean dark rum before we fold them into the maple centres . . . |
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We make very fine hand-dipped chocolates featuring the traditional sweet flavours of the Maritimes (and of Nova Scotia, in particular)- wild blueberries, cranberries, cherries and maple syrup - and a double coat of Belgian or French chocolate. Our chocolates are big, they are one-half fine chocolate, and they are unique. Our chocolates are a celebration of the flavours of Nova Scotia, and we are happy to share. |
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Feb '10. We have some other projects on the go this year, as well as some renovations to our shop. As a consequence we will not have regular open hours at our shop, although we will be able to fill mail-orders in a prompt and timely manner. And of course, we will be supplying our wholesale customers as usual. You will notice also that our range of flavour choices will be narrower this year as we focus on the blueberry and maple cream chocolates. We are in the centre of Nova Scotia's maple and wild blueberry industries, so we are returning to the flavour choices that we started with. We hope to resume regular hours and expanded flavour choices by mid-August 2010 as we ramp up for the Christmas season. Thanks for your patience and understanding. . . . . Alan and Beth |
Pictorials and Essays | |
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This pictorial has eighteen images (one per page) of the complete process from start to finish. About 5 days! |
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All of our maple syrup comes from Avard Bentley's modern sugar camp high in the Cobequid Hills. Take the tour! |
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This series has 6 or 7 images of the growth and harvest of the lowbush blueberry, wild and native to eastern North America. Not to be confused with the cultivated and not-nearly-as-tasty highbush blueberry of the midwest. :~) |
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A description of how chocolate is made. From the tree to the confection |
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90% of women respond physiologically to chocolate, and 90% of men think chocolate is just good candy. If you've come this far on a chocolate site, you should really check out this newsletter. Chocolate is the ultimate soft drug . . . |
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We are located in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia - the heart of maple syrup and wild blueberry country. As a matter of fact, 75% of both maple and blueberry production in the province occurs within 40 miles of our shop. Can you think of a better reason to combine these two fine flavours with the smoothest of Belgian chocolate? You won't find chocolates like ours anywhere else, for a couple of reasons. One is that we use our Nova Scotian ingredients like maple syrup and wild blueberries and cranberries, all flavours that are not commonly found in ordinary chocolates. Another reason is that we use old-fashioned techniques that are very hard to automate. It is difficult to use high-speed machinery to form the centres when they include large pieces of berries and nuts and dried fruits that have to be kneaded in to the fondant, and in a production line the centres would be sprayed with chocolate, not dipped. And it's hard to have a machine put foils on chocolates that are not all exactly alike. And yet another reason is that the hand-labour and the ingredients are expensive, which makes it difficult for retailers to get their margin and still have our chocolates priced within reason. By selling most of our chocolates directly to the consumer or end-user, we do not have to find margins for brokers and retailers. And that lets us keep the prices down. All of our chocolates are hand-made, hand-dipped and hand-wrapped in colourful foils. Here's Alan wrapping a tray of maple-blueberry chocolates in fuschia foils, at the end of the five-day production process. 
We are proud of our chocolates, and we guarantee your complete satisfaction. Last Updated 6 February '10 This page was written by and is maintained by Alan from the Appleton Chocolates Company. |
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